The link between climate and cholera, a serious health problem in many parts of the world, has become stronger in recent decades, according to a University of Michigan scientist who takes an ecological approach to understanding disease patterns. Mercedes Pascual, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, discussed her work during a symposium Feb. 17 on the ecology of infectious diseases at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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Classifying corals in terms of species is a risky business. Biologist Onno Diekmann from the University of Groningen has discovered that four species of stone corals differ so little in terms of their genetic material that they can scarcely be termed separate species.

Corals are formed by a collection of identical coral polyps which together form a coral colony. Onno Diekmann compared the genetic material from six different species of coral from the Madracis genus, which are found in the co

The idea of freezing and storing the genetic materials of endangered plants and animals in some offsite location sounds more like a Jurassic Park sequel than a reality, but it is something that is in the works.

Endangered species protection programs, zoos, and plant conservatories work to preserve the Earth’s animal and plant population, but in order to preserve the richness of biological diversity, alternatives such as gene banking must be used, scientist said today at the American As

Nitrogen is central to food production, helping feed almost 40 percent of the world’s growing population, but the element also starts a cascade that moves through the atmosphere, soils, and waters, dramatically altering the environment.

In order to meet future need and preserve the environment, new strategies and opportunities for improved nitrogen management must be developed, scientists said today at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting.

Scientists work toward unraveling gene expression in the brain

Using Web-based tools they developed to sift through reams of data, scientists from the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins hope to unravel the genetics of neurological problems associated with Down syndrome, autism and lead poisoning.

Their search starts with microarrays, or so-called “gene chips,” which measure the activity of tens of thousands of genes all at once. By analyzing the pattern of gene acti

Protein used during cell development important in cloning technique

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have identified the protein responsible for disassembly of donor nucleoli in the context of nuclear cloning. Although it was already known that nucleoli, essential structures for protein synthesis, normally disassemble or disappear for a period of time in the early animal development and also during nuclear cloning, it was not known until this study what causes this phenomeno